Hicks: Five suggestions for a new Oscar host

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Sandra Bullock accepts the Oscar for best performance by an actress in a leading role for ¿The Blind Side¿ at the 82nd Academy Awards Sunday, March 7, 2010, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

CULVER CITY, CA - JUNE 09: Actor Samuel L. Jackson speaks onstage at the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Morgan Freeman held at Sony Pictures Studios on June 9, 2011 in Culver City, California. The AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Morgan Freeman will premiere on TV Land on Saturday, June 19 at 9PM ET/PST. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI)

Oscar producers can’t bring Bob Hope or Johnny Carson back from the dead (they’ve tried), and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are probably still a bit buzzed from the Golden Globes. So we get Ellen DeGeneres — a safe choice about whom the best someone can say is that she’s not James Franco or Anne Hathaway.

Perhaps it’s time for Oscar to have some fun. A few thought that was the deal when David Letterman hosted, but America clearly wasn’t ready. Nor were we quite prepared to go as lowbrow as Seth MacFarlane and his breast jokes. We’d suggest Don Rickles but, even after all these years, most of America still isn’t ready for Don Rickles.

So who should have a crack at bringing something fresh, interesting and — we’ll say it — funny to the king (and stuffiest) of all the entertainment award shows? Here’s a five people who could work:

Sandra Bullock: An Oscar winner and one of the most beloved actresses in America, Bullock has the ability to be funny and knows when to turn it down. Plus, being in “Speed 2” gives her lots of self-effacing material to mine.

Samuel L. Jackson: He’s a real professional who would command the stage. He may not be able to sing or dance, but he’s funny and would set a record for Oscar bleeps.

Bill Clinton: The former president loves Hollywood and may be the best public speaker on the planet. So maybe he’d be undressing actresses with his eyes. This man was once the most powerful person on the planet. He nails this gig and in 2016 America will feel compelled to make him the first … man? Dude? Have they figured that one out yet?

Bill Murray: This would certainly be a risk, because one never knows what Murray would try. Which is exactly why a Bill Murray-hosted Oscars would set ratings records. He has enough credibility at this point and he’s still funny enough. Plus, it would be priceless to watch him try to pull off song-and-dance routines (think of Murray singing to the “Star Wars” theme on Saturday Night Live).

Carrie Fisher: With Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds as parents, she has the old-school bloodline the Academy should love. She knows the business, is self-effacing, charming, and at times, hilarious. It’s timely as well, as the public is salivating over next year’s new “Star Wars” film. And there are so many potential jokes about her “Star Wars,” look and not wearing underwear in space that she wouldn’t lack for material.

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